Ramble On
by purehalo
Summary: Take William Brandt and Benji Dunn, add in a healthy slice of nature and a side of unfortunate events... what do you get? A recipe for whumpage! The product of a prompt over at Beta Branch.
1. Chapter 1

Dear friends, welcome to my next whumpventure! Brandt is just too cute when hurt to be left alone for too long! The following is...well...hard to explain, but i can confirm that it's all Beta Branch's fault. But as they also checked it over i forgive them.

Mainly it's Alex Kade's fault . She is evil. But in a good way.

Disclaimer: Part of this is mine, the rest...not so much

So, on with...oh you'll find out soon enough

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><p>"Who gets to go out? I'll tell you who, Brandt! That's who. And who's fault is it that the satellite comes falling out of the sky to crash land in the middle of friggin nowhere? Benji, that's who. And who gets to escort the satellite killing idiot? Yeah, you guessed it, Brandt! How is this fair? I've earned my place in the team, I've worked damn hard and yet, once again, here I am, helping to retrieve a CPU from a satellite that should have STAYED IN THE SKY! But noooooooooooo, we have to knock it down because why keep a satellite up high when you can hit one little, tiny, inconsequential button, say oopsie and then watch as the tiny speck on the radar comes hurtling out of the sky to land in the middle of nowhere . Unbelievable. He's an idiot. Total mis-keying little idiot."<p>

"I can hear you, you know."

"And would he crash said satellite near a road? Would he decide to crash it somewhere easily accessible? Of course he doesn't!"

"Technically I had no control over where it landed."

"So what do we have to do? Drive for four hours then trek for two just to find one little satellite that the so called _master of technology _knocks out of the sky."

"I never said _master_, I believe I said guru."

"And here I am, escorting the moron because its too scary to let him off alone, god knows what else he'd push out of the sky. I wouldn't put it past him to drop the moon on our heads. Who gets to go? Brandt. That's who. Short straw the whole way."

"You know you're repeating yourself now, right?"

"And not only does it NOT crash near a road, oh no, it crashes in the middle of Utah. But don't worry, as its summer it'll only hit the mid nineties, which happened just as we had to start our walk."

"To be fair it is pretty warm."

"_No Ethan, please don__'__t worry yourself. Brandt will go. He wants to go. He likes going. Seriously Carter, I insist. You stay by the pool in your bikini while the moron and the helper go out to find the satellite.__"_

"It's a little worrying you keep referring to yourself in the third person."

"I swear to god Benji, if we don't find that satellite soon I'm going to end you and bury your body out here in the middle of nowhere."

"Well at least you're now offering to bury me, before it was 'leave my rotting carcass for the vultures'."

"Unbelievable! Unbelievable!"

"You're not suffering from heat stroke are you? Because I don't think I could carry you back to the car. You're all muscle which makes you pretty heavy and, well, I'm just me, you know?"

"Unbelievable."

"Right! Enough! Stop. Sit your bottom down and drink this."

Brandt spun round, the action flicking up dust from his feet that drifted lazily around his boots. He glared at the bottle being held toward him. He glared at the hand holding said bottle. He glared at the face attached to the body that had the arm with the bottle thrust toward him. He seethed. He sweated. He grunted and drank down the water in one gulp.

"Better?" asked Benji as he sat down on a rocky outcrop.

"Did you tell me to sit my _bottom _down?"

"Yes."

"Don't do that again."

"Ok."

Brandt sat down next to his friend on the outcropping. Their walk had been primarily up hill from the dirt track that was laughably called a road. The path they'd taken had lead them through the edge of a beautiful, dense, green forest and as the path steadily climbed the going had become slightly rocky. They were now sat on the edge of a small drop off. Below them a river flowed lazily by. Beyond the river the forest curved back into view. Benji breathed the landscape in as the enormity and beauty of Utah shone in all its glory. Brandt felt his shoulders relax as the scenery helped to soothe his irritation.

"Gotta admit," said Benji as he bumped his shoulder into Brandt. "I picked a pretty good place to drop a satellite."

"So you admit you dropped it?" asked Brandt around a smirk.

"I said I was sorry," defended Benji.

"Ok, I admit, this is a pretty decent view."

"That it is."

"Please tell me we're near the signal?"

Benji pulled out his tracker, held it high in the shadow of the distant mountain and smiled as a green dot appeared close to their location. He turned to Brandt, held the tracker to him and smiled further as his friend seemed to relax even more thanks to the brightly coloured dot.

They sat in companionable silence for a few more minutes. Both enjoying the fresh air, bird calls and swish of the distant river. It wasn't often they could afford downtime, especially in a setting such as this. Benji could feel Will letting go of the weight he forever seemed to carry. No matter how many missions they completed, or how many people they saved, Will always seemed to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. It may have been a mistake on Benji's part to hit the booster on the satellite and send it on a collision course with the earth, but he was glad he had. Even if it was only a day of respite he could offer, it was worth it. Would have been nice to not have been the one forced to go and recover said CPU from aforementioned satellite. Yes it had been his fault, but why HQ thought his team should have to recover it just wasn't fair. Then for Ethan to decide he and Brandt should have to go was just plain mean. He didn't have to smile while dishing out the order. And Jane didn't have to do the 'I get to sit by the pool' happy dance. Just plain mean.

"Ok," said Brandt as he slapped Benji on the knee.

"Ow!"

"Ready to go?"

"Yes, should be half a mile up this stretch and waiting for us."

"Sounds good," said Will as he added his now empty water bottle to the others in his back pack. He shouldered the bag, stood tall and stretched his neck and back muscles. As much as he grouched, he was enjoying himself. Just a little.

Benji lead the way, the going not as steep as it was before. Slowly the natural path levelled out, more outcroppings appeared as they reached a small plateau beneath the shadow of the mountain. The Englishman squinted into the distance, a movement catching his eye. He stopped, raised his hand to block the sunshine and focused on the movement.

Brandt slowed as Benji came to a stop, he took one look at the other agent and felt his hand go to his gun that always sat behind his back.

"Benji?"

"There's something up there. Do you see it?"

Brandt moved closer to the other man and took up the same stance. Squinting, hand blocking the sun, and trying to find the zoom button on his vision.

"What is that?" asked Brandt as he took a step forward. "Its coming up quick."

"Looks like more than one whatever-it-is."

"Deer maybe?"

"Looks too small."

"What else lives in these forests?"

Benji opened his mouth to answer, but shut it quick as he realised he had no idea. Dust kicked up behind the source of the movement, which had now become a dark brown blob. Will focused and concentrated. The big brown blob separated and became two huge blobs with a smaller one in the middle. He lowered his hand from his eyes. The figures now coming into full view thanks to the impressive speed. Like a tornado that appeared stationary, they were upon them in no time.

"Oh shit."

"What?" asked Benji, slight panic in his voice thanks to the way Will had straightened. He stared in disbelief as the reality of what was coming toward them hit him square in the head. "Shit."

"Yep, we need to move."

"What? Where?"

"Benji just move!" exclaimed Will as he pushed the other man toward a small outcropping to the left. Will swallowed as his heart stopped, he had barely anytime left to move before the stampeding animals ran into him. He looked to his right, saw no option and jumped. His feet leaving the ground as he fell further than he'd anticipated, coming to land in an ungainly heap against an unforgiving, rocky surface that was determined to cause as much damage as it could. His vision blackened, his lips tingled and went numb, just as he decided enough was enough and gave into the darkness.

TBC

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><p><em>Any guesses as to what it could have been ? (you'll never friggin guess!)<em>


	2. Chapter 2

You guys and your reviews are amazing! Love you all. Also loved your ideas for what the heck stampeded our boys! (Fan girls was my fav!) So, ya wanna know?

Read on...

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><p>In his mind he was lazing by a glistening pool, the sun beating down on his bronzed skin and working her fingers into his taunt muscles, massaging away all the past stress and worry. He was stretched out, the sounds of birds in the distance the soundtrack to his relaxation. Wind whispered through trees that sat close by, but not too close that they blocked his shade. He breathed in paradise and exhaled tranquillity.<p>

Gentle hands ran over his torso, coming to rest against his cheek. They warmed his face as he imagined the bikini clad woman the hands belonged to. She'd be lithe, adventurous, funny and completely devoted to him. The unseen, bikini-clad woman caressed his face. The unseen, bikini-clad woman gently tapped his cheeks. He opened his eyes, smiling as he did so.

The unseen, bikini-clad woman morphed into a dishevelled, slightly sunburnt Englishman.

"S'p it."

Benji slapped Will again, harder.

"Stop it!"

"Ah ha! It's alive," said Benji, trying to keep the worry out of his voice. He'd jumped up after the mini stampede laughing and pointing and about to share the funny with Brandt when he'd noticed the former analyst was no where to be found. Benji had jumped _up _onto an outcropping while Will had jumped down five feet _off _of an outcropping. When he'd finally located his friend Benji's heart had sank. Will was in a heap with a pretty impressive goose egg forming on the side of his head. Thankfully it had only taken a few slaps to the face to get the fallen man to come round. Yet even so that small win hadn't helped calm the frantic beating of Benji's heart. His hands had felt the breaks as they'd pressed their way over Brandt's body.

"How you feeling?" Asked Benji, trying to rouse his friend some more.

"Was that what I thought it was?" Queried Brandt as he tried to blink away the spots dancing in front of his eyes. He had yet to move from his tangled heap on the ground.

"It really, really was," said Benji, a touch too excitedly for Brandt's liking. "Think you can get up?"

Brandt blamed the bump to his head as the reason he failed to catch the concern in his friend's tone. He rolled his eyes and pushed Benji's helping hands away as he levered himself up to stand.

A pain, like a lance impaling him to the ground, burst through his torso and left him gasping, pale and breathless on the floor. His hands pressed against his side as he cried out in pain anytime Benji tried to check him over again.

"You've broken some ribs," explained the concerned technician. "Just breathe, the pain will ease."

"Yeah?" Will took a shallow breath, "maybe you could have told me _before _I moved."

"I tried to help you," said Benji indignantly. "Not my fault you're too pigheaded to accept a hand up."

"Shut up," ground out the injured analyst as he carefully, _very carefully _and slowly, made his way back to a sitting position. This time he accepted Benji's help, even offered up a thankful smile as he made it all the way to standing without the pain knocking him back off his feet. Benji carefully manoeuvred Will around the side of the outcropping to a slight incline where he could walk back up to the natural path without putting further strain on his battered body. He sat down thankfully against a nearby rock and took a careful breath.

"Ok?" Questioned Benji as he handed the other man a bottle of water.

Brandt nodded , took a few careful sips and handed the water over to Benji who downed the rest.

"That was…..unexpected."

"Unexpected? Will, that was AMAZING! I've never seen a moose before, let alone three of them stampeding!"

Will had to laugh at his friend as he threw his hands in the air and did a little dance that only Benji could get away with. "I've never seen anything like that, not ever! My only regret is that I didn't get a picture. Or video, that would be amazing on youtube."

Will held up a hand. "Your only regret?" With the same hand he gestured to his very sore torso.

"Oh, yes, of course. Sorry." Benji sat down on the ground in front of his friend. "You ok?"

Will nodded, laughed a little as Benji rolled his eyes. "I think one rib is broken," he admitted.

"Two," clarified Benji. "I felt two move when I was checking you over while you were napping."

"Was I out long?"

"A few minutes. How's your head?"

"Ok, just a little headache. No nausea or double vision."

Benji nodded, thankful Brandt had decided to be honest for a change. Now was not the time for the patented _I__'__m fine_.

"What about your side?" Benji pointed to Brandt's right side, where he had his left arm wrapped protectively around.

"Hurts," admitted the former analyst, "but I'll be ok once we get this done."

"Whoa! Wait, what?" Benji stood up, advancing on Will fast enough to make the other agent lean back a little. "We're going back to the car and getting you to a hospital."

"Benji, we're close to the signal. If we turn back now we'll just have to come back in a week or so. I'll be ok, you said yourself we were within a half mile of the signal. I'll be ok for the extra time it'll take to locate the wreckage and retrieve the CPU."

Benji glared at Will with an intensity that would have made Ethan proud. He could see the logic, understood the injured man's argument. Reluctantly he pulled out the tracker and checked the location of the satellite.

"It's around here somewhere," noted Benji as he looked up and to the left of their current position.

"Well there you go. We'll get it," Will stood, pulling up short as the pain in his side awoke to the movement, "take what we need and then make our way back to the car and back to civilisation."

"And a hospital," added the English agent.

"Sure," agreed Brandt, less convincingly than he'd meant to.

"Uh huh. See if you get out of it when Jane finds out you're injured," Benji smirked as Will visibly paled at the thought of arguing with the woman. "You sure you can do this?" He asked again as Will took a breath when as his right foot caught on a rock sending shock waves through his broken ribs.

"I'll be ok, let's just get it done."

Benji nodded, gathered his bag and all but snatched Will's out of his hand before he could attempt to put the straps over his shoulders. With one look he silenced the injured man and lead the way further up the mountain and closer to their signal.

Brandt smiled as he followed behind, carefully picking his way around cumbersome rocks. Ethan would most definitely be proud of the looks Benji had perfected.

They walked further up the path, then turned off and headed into a grassy plateau. Benji holding the tracker high as Will walked beside him.

Will swiped at his nose, there was a smell that wouldn't leave him alone and seemed to be following him. He scrunched up his face, turning his head trying to locate the source of the stench. He turned, convinced the smell was coming from Benji, only to come face to face with the other agent who had also caught a whiff of the odour.

"What is that?" Asked Benji.

"You smell it too?"

"It's you," accused Benji.

"What? No it isn't."

"No, no its definitely you," said Benji as he circled the injured man.

"Could be you, don't see how you're so adamant it's me."

"I'm adamant because of the mess on your shirt."

"What? What mess?"

Benji bent down and picked up a stick, he ran the bark up Brandt's back and held the evidence in front of the other man's nose.

"What the friggin hell is that?" Asked Brandt as he took a step back. Benji held the soiled stick further toward the other man with one hand, while the other pinched his nostrils shut.

"Looks you fell into some dung my friend. Probably moose dung."

"Some what? No, you gotta be kidding me," Brandt tried to turn to see the mess but suddenly gasped as the movement aggravated his broken ribs. Benji threw the stick away and helped steady the man while keeping his head as far away as he could. Now they'd both noticed the smell it was all consuming.

"Easy, no sudden movements, I'm not carrying you back down this mountain."

"Benj, what the hell is that smell? Get it off me!" Had Brandt not looked so pitiful at that moment, Benji would have enjoyed torturing his friend. But with a headache, broken ribs and a messed up spoiled shirt the mocking could wait for later. Carefully, Benji helped Brandt out of his shirt and handed the offending material to the injured man. Brandt stood in his T-shirt, holding the ruined long sleeved shirt as far away from him as he could. If Benji didn't know better, he'd have thought there was grief in the other man's eyes.

"I loved that shirt. It was my favourite."

"Don't worry, it'll clean right up," reassured Benji.

"Really? You think?" Asked Will with hope.

"Yeah, sure it will," reassured Benji as he pulled out a plastic bag from his pack and held it open for Will to deposit the shirt inside, "will be right as rain in no time." Benji tied the bag tight and stuffed it into Will's backpack, making a silent promise to bin the shirt the first chance he could.

"Funny," noted the Englishman.

"What?" grumbled Will as he trudged behind Benji as they continued their search for the satellite.

"Moose dung doesn't smell like mousse."

"What?"

"Mousse, you know, like hair mousse. Doesn't smell like Moose moose."

"Do I really have a concussion, or are you actually trying to discuss this?"

"And there were three moose," carried on Benji regardless of the glares Will was firing his way, "So is that a pack, or a herd?"

"Herd," mumbled the injured man.

"So a herd of moose, is like a group of meece."

"Seriously?" Will ran the hand that wasn't gripping his side over his face.

"What's the plural of moose? Meece? Moosi? Moosy? There has to be a plural of that word. Maybe its like geese, a lot of them is called a gaggle."

"I'll gaggle you in a minute."

"You can't have a gaggle of moose though, so would it be maggle?" Benji frowned as he held the tracker higher, squinted into the sun and then headed off toward the nearby tree line. "Maggle doesn't sound right, although it does remind me of fraggle. I used to love that show, did you watch it?" Benji turned a questioning gaze toward Will, but quickly turned back thanks to the look the former analyst was trying to bore into his skull.

"Must be meece. And if it isn't then I'm just going to make it so. Meece sounds about right. I like that word so meece it is. We had a maggle of meece attack us."

"I'm going to shoot you."

"What? Did you say something?"

"I said I'm going to mute you," smiled Brandt innocently.

"Well, I'm just wondering. There must be a plural to moose. Aren't you the least bit curious?" Benji turned, took in the forward bend and painful posture of his friend, and decided he probably wasn't the least bit curious at all. As he turned back a flash of silver caught his eye from within the tree line. "Ah hah!"

"Thank god," said Will thankfully as he gently lowered himself to the ground, taking a much needed rest in the grass. Benji handed him a bottle of water and gave the injured man a pointed look telling him to stay put. Brandt watched as Benji ran into the tree line, thankful for the silence and respite from the insane ramblings of the other man. He drank slowly, thankful the ache in his side had lessened slightly now that he was sitting. Of all the injuries to get, broken ribs were Brandt's least favourite. They took so long to heal he knew the next few weeks were not going to be fun. Especially when Jane found out he was injured. She turned into an intense mother hen whenever any of them were injured. And as it tended to be either himself or Hunt, he knew exactly what was headed his way.

He heard a distant "Wooo hooo!" and smiled. "Way to go Benji, now we can get out of here," although part of Will was a little sad that they'd be heading back, taking out the impromptu mission to retrieve the CPU from the downed satellite, and ignoring the stampeding moose, or meece, and broken ribs, it had actually been a pretty fun day out in the arms of nature.

That being said, Brandt was ready for a couple of pain killers and a comfortable bed.

He gazed off into the distance, the landscape was spectacular to say the least. Maybe they would come back, all four of them, to enjoy it for no other reason than just because it was there.

"Got it! Its smashed a little but I do have it!" Shouted Benji as he ran back over to the seated man. He carefully placed the CPU in his backpack and held his hand out toward Will. For once the injured man didn't grumble, instead he allowed his friend to help him stand as they turned to make their way back toward the path and down to the car at the bottom of the mountain.

The two men walked in companionable silence, taking the trek slow and careful so not to cause Will any more discomfort. The sun held high in the sky, basking them in warmth as they made their way past the outcropping where they'd avoided the stampeding moose. Benji ran over to where Will taken his fall. "Yep, definitely moose dung."

"I don't want to know."

"There's actually quite a lot of it. Meece clearly eat enough to produce tonnes of the stuff."

"I don't want to know."

"There's even a little pile, must be a baby moose. I guess you'd call it a calf? Or a mite? Would it be a mite?" Asked Benji as he joined his friend back on the path. "A mite is small, right?"

"I hate moose."

"Don't you mean meece?"

Benji swallowed audibly as Brandt's hand headed toward his gun. He stopped suddenly, his eyes squinting against the sunlight as he looked toward their path. "You got to be kidding me," he moaned as he pointed forward. Benji followed the direction and held his hand up to block the sun.

"Bloody hell those are huge."

There, further ahead and blocking the path, were two large moose with their calf between them.

TBC

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><p><em>Uh oh!<em>

_So what the heck is a group of Moose called? And, on a side note, does anyone else dribble when watching the new Avengers trailer? Or is it just me?_


	3. Chapter 3

You guys and your reviews are food for the soul! And i love the theory that the moose are actually fangirls in disguise! lol!

I won't leave in suspense any longer, so on with the show!

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><p>The standoff seemed to last for hours, when in fact it had been merely minutes. The humans faced the beasts, each sensing the other with both eyes and ears. Neither party moved, for fear of breaking the silent truce that had fallen between them. The wind picked up the dust from the moose and carried it to the ground by the humans, an unseen white flag signalling that now was the time to move. Benji shared a look with Brandt. An exchange of nods and then slowly, carefully and calculating, they moved forward as one.<p>

The beasts regarded them curiously.

Merely 50 steps between them now and still the huge animals had yet to move.

"I've never seen anything so big," noted Benji.

"Shhh."

"I mean, they're like big," he continued, gesturing slightly with his hands. "Like, prehistoric big. These things could have easily walked with dinosaurs and not felt small."

"Shhh."

"Did you know they were this big?"

"Benji, shut the hell up."

The silenced agent stopped walking, turning to face Brandt.

"If the silenter would acknowledge to the silentee the size of the aforementioned beasts we are advancing on, then the silentee wouldn't have to keep pointing out said size to the silenter."

Brandt stopped and faced Benji. "Really?" He asked incredulously. "You're really doing this, right now?" Brandt swore he was whispering, but from the movement in front he knew his volume had risen slightly.

"Shit," said Benji.

"Agreed," nodded Brandt.

The biggest of the three moose had stepped forward, nose sniffing the air as the feet kicked up dirt. The body swayed from side to side with each tentative step the animal took. Will and Benji dared to breathe. Neither moved. Neither knew what was the correct response to a curious moose. Fight? Or flight?

They went with standing rock still and hoping for the best.

The moose continued it's slow amble forward. Nose sniffing the air as it went. Ignoring Benji's presence all together the moose stood before Brandt .

Neither man dared move.

Brandt swallowed, wondering just what Benji would put on his tombstone.

_Here lies William Brandt, he tackled a moose, but lost with the meece._

The animal moved further forward, lowering it's large head to sniff closer to Will.

"He can smell the dung," Benji exclaimed quietly.

"Yeah? Is that a good thing?" Whispered Will.

"How the bloody hell do I know?" Whispered Benji back.

Will opened his mouth to speak but stopped as the moose nudged his shoulder. He bit back a cry of pain as the animal nudged him harder, turning him slightly as it sniffed around his side and back.

"Shit," exclaimed Will.

"Yep, I'd say that's what he's sniffing."

"How do you know it's a he?"

"Believe me, from this angle I know."

"Benji?" The pleading quality in Will's voice forced Benji to move. He carefully sidestepped, taking hold of the injured man's arm and pulled him forward. The moose did nothing but sniff again before turning around to follow the two men as they made their way further down the path. Carefully Will and Benji walked past the smaller moose and her calf. Their speed picking up as they cleared the animals. Benji finally let go of Will's arm as they put more distance between themselves and the huge creatures.

"That was weird," said Will, no small amount of relief in his voice.

"No one will ever believe us."

"Nope, and why should they. Oh yeah, we went for a stroll in a national park to pick up a CPU from a downed satellite only to fall into some crap after a herd of moose charged us and then had said moose follow us thanks to the smell."

"I don't think you're putting the right spin on it."

"Well, it sounds stupid no matter what spin you put on it."

Benji couldn't argue that point. The two continued down the path in companionable silence for a few more minutes before something Will had said niggled it's way into Benji's brain;_ "Moose follow us thanks to the smell." _He turned around, took one look, and turned back quickly as he pulled Will by the arm to move him forward at a faster pace. The injured man panted as he tried to keep up.

"Benji, what the hell?"

"They're following us."

"Yeah, I know. Not much we can do."

"We can walk faster."

"No, really can't."

"What? Why? We need to get….oh." Benji stopped as Will bent forward, the pain from the broken ribs not allowing him to take the deep breath's he needed in order to keep up the pace Benji was trying to set. He was pale, sweating, panting and almost bent over double from the exertion.

"Sorry," said Benji as he reluctantly guided Will to sit on a nearby rock. "You don't think they'll try to hurt us, do you?"

Will took shallow breaths, trying to control his pain before he moved on to controlling Benji's worry. "No," he said as he closed his eyes to the world. "Think they didn't mean to charge us the first time. Don't think they're gonna hurt. Just follow."

"Makes sense," said Benji, his hand settling onto Will's shoulder as he helped steady the exhausted man. "Do you think Ethan will let me keep one?"

Will looked up, smirking at the change in his friend. Just the slightest reassurance and his worry vanished. Such was the trust they had in each other. "Where would you keep it?" Will asked as the animals came to a stop ten paces behind the agents.

"The little one would fit in the van."

"Yeah, but nothing else would fit in the van. Sorry bud, but you'll just have to come out here to visit them."

"Well, that seems fair. How you feeling?"

"I'm…"

"Fine?" Mocked Benji.

"Okay," laughed Brandt. "Maybe fine is a stretch. I'm ok though. I'll make it to the car."

"And then I get to drive you straight to the hospital."

Will didn't have the energy to argue as he smiled up at his friend. The sun was starting it's slow descent into the horizon, giving the agents only a few more hours of daylight to get to the car. The shadows would begin to elongate as the day came to an end. As much fun as it was on their little trip, and broken ribs and stalking moose were such great fun, Will really didn't want to have to spend the night out in the park. He held his hand out which Benji took and carefully stood.

"I think it's time we got out of here," said Will as he wrapped his left arm around his side. "Don't know about you, but I've had enough of the great outdoors."

"I think we're long overdue a stint by the pool," remarked Benji as the two continued their trek back to the car. As the two agents walked forward, so did their moose escort. Benji laughed as he turned, watching the animals as they moved forward, sniffing the air as they went.

"What are you laughing at?" Asked Will, the jarring pain in his side forcing annoyance into his tone.

"At this rate I won't have to ask Ethan if I can keep a moose, they'll follow us all the way back into town on their own."

"It's weird how they're following."

"Not weird, it's because you smell."

"I don't smell!"

"You do, the majority might have been on your shirt but there's still a stain on your T-shirt."

"What? No!"

"Sorry, Will. But yes."

"Dammit."

"Precisely."

"Don't know what you find so funny. It's like you've never seen that movie _The Edge_."

"No."

"It's got Harold Perrineau and Anthony whats-his-name from Silence of the Lambs in it."

"You can remember a name like Perrineau but not _Hopkins_?"

"Three guys get lost in the wilderness and then get stalked by a bear."

"Yeah right."

"Seriously, only one of them survives."

"Uh huh."

"This though, this is more like _Duel_."

"_Duel?_"

"Yeah, but instead of a deranged truck driver, it's a family of moose."

"Meece."

"Whatever."

"I know what you're trying to do."

"Is it working?" Smirked Brandt.

"No," said Benji as he took his third glance behind in as many seconds. "It can't be like _Duel_."

"Why not?"

"Moose can't drive."

"Fair point, but they'd do as much damage as a truck if they hit you."

Benji took a deep breath while telling himself Brandt was injured, looking for a distraction and just trying to get a rise out of him.

It wasn't going to work.

"You ever seen _Jaws_?" Will asked amiably as he walked beside the annoyed man.

"Shut up."

Two pairs of feet kicked up dirt, as the dirt settled behind them six pairs of hoofs re-kicked the soil into the wind.

"How about _Cujo_? You seen that?"

Benji was pretty sure that no one would blame him for attacking the injured man. He was about to use a few choice words to silence the other agent when a hand on his arm stopped him.

"Benji, I really need to stop for a bit."

Will was paler, if that was possible, and had sweated through his T-shirt thanks to the pain of walking downhill with two broken ribs. He hated having to ask for a break and silently thanked the English agent as he nodded and guided them to an outcropping at their left.

"Hate these things," grumbled Will as he sat down, reluctantly grateful for the respite.

"Another hour or so and you'll never have to see another one again," promised Benji as he handed the former analyst a bottle of water.

"How many of these did you bring?" Asked Will as he gratefully drank half the bottle.

"About twenty."

"Twenty?" Will's eyes went wild. "How the hell did you carry that in one bag?"

"Um, well, see, there's a reason your bag was heavy too."

Will opened his mouth to scold the other agent but closed it again as quickly when he realised how lucky they were to have more than enough of a supply of water.

"Our friends have stopped too," noted Benji.

"You think Ethan and Jane will believe this?"

"Oh yes," smiled the Englishman as he pulled out his phone. "They're so big I don't even need to zoom," he said happily as he took a half dozen pictures.

"Now there's no questioning our story," laughed Brandt.

The family of moose regarded the humans curiously, as the wind blew up the path the smell that had intrigued them grew stronger. The bag Benji had opened for the water had allowed more of the stench from Will's shirt to escape. Lumbering forward, the moose advanced on the two men a little quicker than Will and Benji were prepared for.

"Er, Will?"

"Yeah, time to go, Benji."

They stood and made their way along the path, the going not as smooth as they neared the bottom of the mountain. Rocks littered the ground, some so large the two men had to pick their way carefully around. The moose however, thanks to their knowledge of the area and large hoofs, seemed to have no such trouble navigating the terrain. They were now only 5 steps behind.

Benji and Will picked up their pace. Will was hanging onto his ribs with a vice like grip in the hope of controlling the pain through the pressure of his arm. Benji risked a look back, the animals had seemed huge ten paces back but now their bulk seemed to consume the entire landscape.

He was so enthralled with the creatures he failed to check if the ground was free of loose rocks before stepping forward.

He was so captivated by the situation he didn't notice the shift in the ground, causing the path to suddenly level out.

He was so fascinated in the idea of keeping one of the beasts that at first he didn't acknowledge the feeling of falling. His foot stepped out when all it had to do was step down, he slipped, arms cart wheeling as the ground rushed up to meet him.

Then everything went black.

TBC

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><p><em>I do believe this evil turn for Benji makes me a multi-whumper now!<em>


	4. Chapter 4

You are all amazing, beautiful people, and i'm taking you all home with me to keep! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing and, well, just taking the time to stop by!

We're at the end to this little adventure so i hope you enjoy the last chapter!

Much love x See you at the next whumping session!

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><p>Movement.<p>

The first glimmer of awareness that washed over him.

Movement.

He couldn't remember where he'd been but from the swaying back and forth he assumed it had to do with an ocean. The tide carrying him somewhere, the waves lapping against the side. Birds in the distance riding the wind across the big blue as he travelled in the arms of the ship? Boat?

He couldn't remember a recent mission that involved a boat.

He felt safe so disregarded the concern and allowed his mind to drift for a time. He was warm and comfortable, although something was nagging at the back of his mind. He let it slide, the thought too far away to focus on and his head, for some reason, pounded the thought back into oblivion with an all consuming headache.

Time passed, how much time he didn't know, part of him couldn't care less. The part that did care, however, nudged his consciousness further forward into the light. He felt wind on his face, sunshine on his skin. He was laying on something. Not a boat as he had first thought, although the swaying was still prevalent, it was definitely not the swaying of a small boat on the waves of an ocean. He frowned as further awareness gripped him in her arms and flung him further forward to awakening. There was a hand on his back, a bandage around his head and hair in his mouth.

Wait.

Hair in his mouth?

And what the hell was that smell?

Benji forced his tired eyes to open. At first he was blinded by the light of the day. As his iris's adjusted the ground came into view.

The ground.

He was looking down at the ground.

Squinting, Benji focused on the soil beneath his body, with every sway and movement forward a hoof came into view.

_Hoof?_

"Will?" Croaked out Benji, the sound of his voice causing him to wince as the headache took the opportunity to jump up a notch. "Will?"

"Whoa, easy there."

_Whoa? _As the movement came to a stop Benji had a terrifying sinking feeling of fear that he hoped with all his soul would prove unfounded.

Will came into view, upside down.

"Hey, how you feeling?" He asked with concern, his hand still steady against Benji's back.

"William. What is going on?"

"First things first, how you feeling?"

"A little unsure, to be honest with you. Please, for the love of god, help me down."

"No problem, buddy."

Benji felt the hand on his back shift as he was pulled slowly forward. He gripped onto Brandt's neck as the analyst carefully slid him off onto the floor. Will did his best to hide the pain the action caused as he steadied Benji. The technician was as pale as the analyst and was swaying slightly on his feet. Knowing there was no way he'd be able to carry him if he passed out again, Will guided the concussed man over to a downed tree and coaxed him to sit.

Benji kept his eyes closed the entire time. Partly because the ground and surrounding area kept shifting and shimmering causing the nausea he'd hoped wasn't going to be part of his concussion to surge forward and threaten to knock him off his feet. But also because he feared seeing his mode of transport would burn the image into his mind to the point that no amount of therapy would ever cure him of the mental picture.

"You ok?" Brandt asked as he pressed a bottle of water into Benji's hand.

Benji nodded. His head down and a hand covering his eyes.

"Really? Cos you don't look so ok," Will sat next to Benji on the downed tree, he regarded his friend with concern as he drank from his own bottle of water.

"What happened?" Asked Benji without looking up.

"You fell. Scared the shit out of me to be honest."

At that Benji risked looking at his friend. "I take it I hit my head?"

"Yeah. I used some of your shirt to wrap your head. You're gonna need some stitches I'm afraid."

Benji glanced down at his shirt, noticing for the first time that the bottom half was missing.

"So we're both injured? Well that's just great."

"At least we're almost at the car, just another ten minutes or so then home free."

"Home?"

"Ok, well, hospital then home."

"I can't believe this is happening," Benji said as he covered his face with his hand again. "It was supposed to be a simple retrieval."

"You gotta admit, it'll make a funny story. Especially after, you know," Will gestured toward the animals standing close by. "We actually made pretty good time thanks to the little one."

"Do I even want to know?" Came a muffled inquiry.

"I had nothing to do with it my friend."

Benji looked up, studying the way Brandt was hunched over, a little breathless and as pale as Benji felt. His arm was still wrapped around his side and the bottle in his right hand shook slightly.

"Actually, how did you get me up there? With broken ribs?"

"As I said, I had nothing to do with it. When you fell I was certain you were joking. Until I saw the blood that is. I kept trying to wake you up while I wrapped your head. Its not too bad by the way, will probably only need a few stitches."

"Great."

"I splashed water on your face, told you there was a fire, slapped your cheeks but nothing. You were out for the count."

"Explains the headache."

"Then suddenly your eyes pop open, you say _"__hey__"_and then start grinning like an idiot."

"I do not grin like an idiot."

"So, there I am, thinking you're actually ok cos you're all awake now, I try to help you up and you fall straight back down on your ass and start worrying about how I'm going to carry you down to the car. I think you may have even shed a tear."

"Doubt it."

"So I say, I mean, I merely suggest, how about you ride a moose."

"Oh my god. Please stop talking."

"You then jump up, and yee haw I might add, and before I know it you've…"

"Don't say it."

"Hopped up on baby moose there."

"Shoot me. Shoot me now."

"I swear I held my breath for a full five minutes thinking the parents would charge and knock you off, trampling you into the ground then come at me. But they just sniffed you a bit and stood there like nothing was going on."

"Seriously, I really don't want to know."

"So being super genius I am I got out my ruined shirt and hey presto, they followed all happy with their cargo when I started walking."

"I can't believe this."

"You passed out pretty much after hopping up on little Benji."

"You named it?"

"So I let you be and here we are, almost at the car."

"You named it _little Benji_?"

"Uh huh, the big guy is Ethan and the mother is Jane."

"This is not happening. You're lying. You put me up on that moose despite your broken ribs because you are a twisted individual who doesn't feel pain like normal people."

"Benj?"

"What?"

"I took pictures."

"I hate you."

"Lots of pictures."

"I'm going to kill you."

"Why don't we get to the car and back to the hotel first?" Will used Benji's shoulder to help him stand, leaving his hand on his friend as he waited for the English agent to join him.

"Hospital first," said Benji as he stood slowly, the ground and surrounding area staying put as the dizziness abated. He still felt sick, but thankfully even that was creeping into the distance. His headache however would be with him for a few days at least.

"At least this way you get to keep me company while we recover," pointed out Will.

"Fine, but we're not watching any movie with animals in it."

Will laughed softly as he fell into step next to Benji, the family of moose falling into step behind the two men. They walked through a small field and across a shallow stream before reaching a corner that lead directly to the road, their car coming into view like a long lost relative. If Will hadn't been in pain with his ribs, and Benji hadn't had a breath taking headache, they would have run together to the car to embrace it in their arms.

Both men turned to each other, grins threatening to split their faces in two.

"See," said Brandt as he motioned toward the car. "We made it in good time."

"This has to be the strangest day I've ever had," said Benji as he came to rest against the cool metal of the car. His back sank against the black surface as he breathed a sigh of relief. Will leant back against the car next to him. Their escort of moose stopping to graze next to the road.

Both men were light headed, sweaty, in pain and exhausted. Will still had his hunched forward stance while Benji squinted as he took in the sight of the moose.

"How you feeling?" Asked Benji as he pulled out another bottle of water.

"I'm ready to sit down, stay down and lay down," smiled Will. "You?"

"Aside from a large case of the embarrassments and a monster headache, I'm ok," said Benji as he reached up to probe the head wound. "Look at that, I've even stopped bleeding."

"That'll be the power of the moose," sniggered Brandt.

"I think I'm about ready for a few days of mother henning."

"From Ethan or Jane?"

"Both, I find they compete when one of us is hurt."

"True. I'm gonna miss them," Will said as he waved at the moose family, who were turning to make their way back into the depths of the national park. "They're not all that scary when you think about it."

"They do smell though."

"True."

"And they're a little bit hairy."

"Didn't get that close, unlike you my moose wrangling friend."

"Shut up and get in the car."

"You can't drive!" Exclaimed Will as he refused to allow Benji to move him to the passenger side.

"I can, no double vision so I'm fine."

"Benji, I'll drive."

"Oh really? You can barely stand straight so sitting straight will be a feet in itself, add in the fact I'm pretty sure the second you're seated you'll go nappy naps so just stop arguing and get in the car. It's not that far to drive into town and after the trek we've just taken this will be a piss easy task."

Benji had worked up quite the sweat as he'd spoken, gesturing with his hands as he tried to ignore the grin spreading across Will's face.

"What?" The English agent asked impatiently.

"We could always get a moose to drive."

"Funny. It's either the mildly concussed guy driving or the one that can barely sit up straight."

"Fine, you drive."

The two men slowly made their way to their respective sides of the car. Benji carefully sitting in a way that meant little movement for his pounding head. Will held his breath as he lowered himself gently into the car seat. He bent forward, then back, trying to find the most comfortable position. In the end he leaned back and closed his eyes, finally letting out the breath he'd been holding.

"Don't say a word," he said without opening his eyes.

"It's always so lovely of you to prove the point for us."

Brandt risked a glance at the grinning technician before returning the smile. He turned his head back, closing his eyes again and trying to suppress the wince as the car pulled out on to the road.

Benji looked into his rear view mirror, watching as the moose disappeared into the distance.

"It really is a good thing we got pictures, no way will the other's believe this," laughed Benji as he guided the car back toward town.

"Yeah," laughed Will, gripping his side tighter. "And if they don't believe the pictures then the video I got of you hopping up on the moose will be irrefutable."

The car swerved, causing Will to wince in pain. "Hey," he complained to the driver.

"Serves you right," mumbled Benji.

Fin.

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><p><em>See that little button there? If you hit it a Moose will appear!<em>


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